Leaving ship after check-in / boarding?

[SlipperyP]

I am sailing on NLC Joy out of the Manhattan Cruise terminal in a couple of weeks.

 

i have an early check-in time so that I can board early, sign up for the Platinum Behind the Scenes tour and to make dining reservations.  Since the ship doesn’t sail until 6pm, I was wondering if I can leave the ship after doing my tasks and return closer to 3 or 4pm.

 

Anybody have any experience doing this?  Is it possible?

[complawyer]

we were on a b2b last year southamptom to copenhagen/ copenhagen to stockholm.

 

my wife, and our close friend who frequently shares the 2 bedroom suite, got off in copenhagen, wandered around for a while and came back s few hrs later. they did the same thing a ew years prior. we flew into venice a few days prior to sailing from trieste ,took a  shuttle to trieste, spent the night, went to the ship,and again, my wife and my friend got back off, and wandered around trieste for a while. at that time it was only a short walk from the pier to the shopping area. so yes, it can be done.

 

caveat, make  sure you get your tushie back on board 2 hrs before sailing

[knitlady037]

you can check in early, but boarding will not begin until around 11:30 or 12 pm. By the time you get on the ship, make your reservations etc. you are looking at about 1-2 pm before getting off the ship. There is not much to see in the port area. Times square is about 20-30 minute walk. I would stay on the ship and explore before the major crowds get on. Much more interesting than walking to Times Square to see the crowds there. There is much more to see on the Joy. She is an amazing ship with so much to offer. Remember you MUST be back before the 4 pm time when they submit manifest or you may be denied reboarding.

Edited May 5 by knitlady037
added extra info

[mjkacmom]

50 minutes ago, knitlady037 said:

you can check in early, but boarding will not begin until around 11:30 or 12 pm. By the time you get on the ship, make your reservations etc. you are looking at about 1-2 pm before getting off the ship. There is not much to see in the port area. Times square is about 20-30 minute walk. I would stay on the ship and explore before the major crowds get on. Much more interesting than walking to Times Square to see the crowds there. There is much more to see on the Joy. She is an amazing ship with so much to offer. Remember you MUST be back before the 4 pm time when they submit manifest or you may be denied reboarding.

I agree, we usually get a 9 am check in time and board close to noon.

[Cruising Lynne]

I wouldn't get back off the ship in Manhattan, unless I wanted to go to the Intrepid Museum, which is right next door. The earliest we have seen boarding start in Manhattan was 11:00 for Haven and shortly after that handicapped people board. Being Sapphire Lattitudes we have boarded by about 11:30.

[UKstages]

geez... i dunno. there may be a difference between what is allowed for a back to back cruiser and somebody embarking that day. i live just a few blocks from the manhattan cruise terminal. and i've done back to back cruises that sail out of new york, then return to new york before sailing again. i have never heard of anybody leaving the ship on embarkation day once checked in. i do know several people, including me, who have dropped their bags in the morning, then explored the city or done errands for however long they like... then returned to check in at 2 or 3 pm. but that won't allow you to make early reservations. they may let you off the ship on embarkation day, and i'm sure they would for an emergency, such as leaving medication behind at home or at your hotel, but i'm just not sure. in ports where you may begin your cruise with an overnight, such as reykjavik, they absolutely let you off the ship once you're checked in.  on a B2B from manhattan, i have left the ship, but i've also stayed on... yes, even though i live just a few blocks away.

 

as a resident of hell's kitchen, i would argue that there actually is a lot to do nearby, without traveling very far. times square is a fifteen minute walk away. and the shops, boutiques and restaurants on ninth avenue are even closer. and a lot cheaper than you'd find in touristy manhattan. yes, the food is "free" on the ship and they don't take your drink card at those restaurants on ninth avenue, but you'd be hard pressed to find better thai food, mexican food, chinese food, afghani food, sushi, pizza, indian food (well, maybe you can get that on the ship). but there is an indian/mexican hybrid called taco mahal at 45th and ninth that's quite good. and there is a target store at 44th and tenth avenue, in case you've forgotten toiletries or sunscreen or if you want to buy salty snacks. (you will often run into the ship's crew shopping there.)

 

and, as mentioned upthread, the intrepid is a few seps away. just a couple of blocks further south is the north river lobster company, a seafood restaurant on a boat that takes you out on a 90 minute sailing during which you can drink and eat. that's one way to avoid the crowds at the buffet on embarkation day! they have a sister boat called la barca cantina that does the same thing with mexican food.

 

if you fancy a long walk, you can walk along the river and go up to 80th or 90th street through riverside park south and see the part of the river and new jersey that you never see on a cruise ship that only travels south from 48th street. you can stop at the outdoor cafe around 72nd street. you can also get some great shots of your ship at the pier if you do this! this walk would take between two to two and a half hours.

 

walk over to rockefeller center and see the ice rink (or the restaurant that takes its place during the spring and summer and fall). take a tour of NBC studios. do a walking tour through the theatre district and tale photos of the marquees. wander over to the tkts booth at duffy square (47th street and broadway) and see if they have any discount tickets for a 1 pm matinee that will finish by 3 pm. walk by the studio for "the daily show" and "last week tonight with john oliver" (which is also the studio for "the drew barrymore show"). they're all in hell's kitchen amd within easy reach, as are certain CBS studios.

 

it should be noted that while the joy is still checking people in as early as 9:30,  many of their sail aways are not scheduled until 6 pm these days, as with the OP's cruise. and that makes wandering around town more worthwhile.

 

Edited May 5 by UKstages

[Jldevlin]

2 hours ago, UKstages said:

as a resident of hell's kitchen, i would argue that there actually is a lot to do nearby, without traveling very far. times square is a fifteen minute walk away. and t

We were in New York a month ago and stayed for 3 days right in Hells Kitchen. It was fabulous!! Never felt unsafe and so many food options.....We will be looking to coming back very soon.

[SlipperyP]

Thanks, all, for your feedback!

[bluesea777]

Forget the early check in time, leave luggage at hotel and go out to sightsee and have lunch. Then return to hotel to retrieve luggage and head to the ship at around 2-3pm. By then you’ll be breezing thru the check in and get on ship in no time, and your cabin will be ready.

 

Ships do get crowded from noon until 2 pm with ppl milling around ship with hand luggage waiting for their rooms to be available.

 

 

[Sailing12Away]

In Seattle we stayed across the street from the port, so dropped luggage off as early as we could, got our key cards and all squared away, but never stepped foot on the ship. Left the terminal building to wander Seattle a bit before returning and then getting to skip some (not all) of the lines to actually get on the ship. 

 

Unless you're in the Haven, your current plan has a lot of flaws and won't leave you a lot of time to wander NYC. Better to either leave the bags at the hotel, or do something similar to what I did in Seattle where you get all squared away but don't go on the ship. So drop the bags off at the cruise and then explore the city some more before starting the cruise. Realistically you won't be boarding the ship until after 11-12. So if your plan was to run and do things on the ship, then get off to do city things, only to return just 3 hours later - seems like a lot of wasted time. 

But it all depends on what specifically you wanted to do in the city. So long as you sign up for the latitudes stuff that first day, I've never seen a need to be the first on board to sign up. They run more than one behind the scenes tour.